


Mine Is the Hand to Hold

by jessis



Series: After the [E]nd [1]
Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Spoilers, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 12:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17120975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessis/pseuds/jessis
Summary: 9S is having nightmares and seeks out help from 2B.





	Mine Is the Hand to Hold

**Author's Note:**

> Happens after ending E so spoilers for that. Major spoilers for playthrough 3 [Route C/D].
> 
> Just some simple cavity inducing fluff with slight angst.
> 
> Hopefully there aren't too many mistakes in this despite having some beta reading done on it.

Bright red flashed across his vision. A glint of what he could only guess was the shine of the sun on her weapon.The silverish white of her hair as it swayed with the motion of her head turning to face him. Her lips moving as she uttered his nickname that he so desperately wanted to hear her call him. Not like this. Anything but this, he thought to himself. He screamed out for her but no sounds came from his mouth. He reached out but always fell just short of grasping onto her.

9S jolted upright in his bed, black box pulsing erratically in his chest. He clutched at it as he took in deep, ragged breaths. His blurry vision started to sharpen as he frantically looked around the room, trying to decipher his current location. Their room at the resistance camp. Right. He’d just been asleep, is all. A horrible nightmare was all it was.

Or… was it? He suddenly felt a deep, frantic desire to check and make sure it was only a nightmare. Just the memories of an event he’d rather not recognize happened. 9S pushed himself up off the bed and took quiet but quick steps towards the other end of the room and the object of his affection as well as his nightmares. He came to a stop mere inches from the edge of her own bed where he eyed her critically.

2B laid there, chest rising up and down in time with her soft breathing. Occasionally her fingers would twitch or her brows would furrow in her sleep. 9S couldn’t help himself. Even if he visually could see she was there and perfectly fine he still needed to feel it. He took the hand she had laying on her stomach into his own hands and ran his thumb along her knuckles. Her hands were warm and soft and he crouched down to place it on his cheek and nuzzle it.

9S took this time to scrutinize her facial features as he thought about the nightmare he’d just had about her. It’d been occurring constantly for nights now with no end in sight. Despite her being there and very much alive he continued to play her death over and over in his head. Sometimes he thinks his lack of proper rest was starting to even gain the attention of his beloved 2B, who looked to be having her own sleeping problems if her furrowed brows were any indication.

Still, 9S didn’t want to disturb her for fear of being wrong with his assumption so instead he let out a soft but deep sigh and begrudgingly placed her hand back on her stomach where it originally had been. As he turned to make his way back to his bed for another attempt at sleep, he whispered.

“Sleep well, 2B.”

***

9S watched 2B silently from the corner of his own side of the room as she sat on her bed, peeling off the long, black boots she wore with her usual stoic gaze. It was fascinating to him how meticulous she was with everything she did. But that’s hardly the reason he was staring at her. No. Instead, he was debating internally with himself if he should ask her for a small favor. Or more like a huge one considering he was asking her to allow him to sleep next to her tonight. He figured it might help with his nightmares if she were closer to him. And, of course, 9S desperately wanted to get closer to her.

After he’d finally woken up, in part because of 2B herself and in part because of the Pods diligent work in putting him back together, she’d been much softer to him. Her usual disposition hadn’t changed much but she spoke to him in a much more relaxed, affectionate way. At least, in comparison to how she’d been before. He’d even had the pleasure of seeing her smile a few times, mainly after he’d made some silly comment or tripped and fallen into a puddle by accident while bird watching.

As if all these thoughts had given him courage, he finally stepped over towards her as she untied her visor and removed it before placing it neatly next to the rest of her removed clothing.

“Hey… 2B?”

Azure eyes met his and suddenly all the artificial nerves in his body seized up. He swallowed a lump in his throat as her unwavering gaze met his. Her head tilted only slightly after a few seconds of him saying nothing before she spoke.

“Yes?”

It was now or never, he thought.

“Can I… Can I ask you a question?”

He watched as her brows furrowed only a fraction before returning to their normal place. If he wasn’t paying attention so much to her, he might have missed it.

“You just did, 9S.”

Typical 2B.

“Heh… Yeah, I guess I did, didn’t I? A-anyway, that’s not what I wanted to ask. I was wondering if… If I could-”

This was much harder than he thought it would be. Maybe her unfazed expression was making him nervous. 2B spoke once more, breaking him out of his thoughts again.

“9S. Spit it out.”

9S could only close his eyes and bow his head as the words tumbled out of his mouth.

“Can I sleep next to you tonight?”

After what seemed like ages to him, he finally worked up the courage to peek open an eye and look at her. He was surprised to find her, well, equally as surprised. Her eyes were widened and brows raised as if she hadn’t expected the question from him in the slightest. He watched in fascination as her mouth opened and closed, as if trying to put into words what she was thinking but unable to. Finally, her gaze softened and she spoke.

“I… don’t mind.”

He let out a breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding before returning her gaze with a smile.

“Thanks, 2B.”

9S started to fidget with the bottom of his shirt as he took a couple tentative steps closer to where 2B was sitting on the edge of her bed, unsure of how to go about this. He felt even more nervous due to the fact that 2B was still staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. As if sensing his hesitation, she pushed herself up off the edge of the bed and gestured towards it.

“You first.”

As if spurred on by the gesture, 9S made his way towards the bed before climbing in and laying down up against the wall as far in as he could in order to give her enough space to fit as well. He knew he was imposing on her enough as it was. Even if their feelings were mutual, they’d never really done anything beyond admit it to each other. It had mostly been him spewing out word vomit about how he had feelings for her beyond just friendship and her quietly saying the feeling was mutual.

He laid down on his back and watched her silently as she climbed into bed next to him, leaving no space between them due to how small the bed they were on was. Her shoulders pressed up against his and her thighs brushed against his own and he could feel his face heating up. His head swam with thoughts about how bad of an idea this was.

“9S.”

How he was going to be up all night too busy memorizing the feel of her soft skin.

“9S.”

Wishing the resistance camp could have supplied them with even a slightly bigger bed just to give his poor black box some rest.

“ _Nines_.”

The sound of her speaking his nickname in such a firm but tender way knocked him out of his thoughts almost instantly and he jerked his head to look at her, face heating up again. 2B was now on her side, facing towards him, and he hadn’t even noticed that she had moved. He somehow managed to ram his head up against the wall in surprise at how close her face was to his. Not that they hadn’t been this close to each other before but it was always some life or death situation rather than the comfort of a bed.

“Damnit-”

Before he could even bring his hand up to rub the sore spot on the back of his head, 2B had brought her own hand up to the back of his head, slender fingers now rubbing the spot in small circles. He watched in fascination as her lips curled up into a slight smile and she uttered what sounded to be a small laugh.

“What have I told you about paying attention to your surroundings?”

9S cleared his throat and gave her a sheepish smile.

“Unfortunately, if it’s the only way to see you smile like that I can’t guarantee anything.”

He continued to watch in fascination as her lips pursed as she averted her eyes from his face briefly before looking back at him. His smile stayed on his face the entire time, enjoying her reaction to his response. It may have been a small one but for 2B that was a far cry from her usual lack of reaction. He felt a finger press into the bump forming on the back of his head and he winced.

“H-hey- 2B!”

“You shouldn’t put yourself in harm’s way for something as insignificant as a smile.”

9S couldn’t help but laugh at her response. It was so typical of her. He felt the need to press it further though, somehow gaining an exorbitant amount of courage from her smile to do so.

“Nonsense. You have a great smile. I would gladly die for that smile.”

All he managed to hear was a loud snort as her hand pressed into his face and pushed him away from her. He scrunched up his face, still laughing, and tried to bat her hand away to see what her facial expression was. Unfortunately, if she did have any reaction to it, it was long gone because once he managed to pull her hand away from his face hers was back to its passive facade.

“You’re an embarrassment, 9S.”

9S continued to grasp onto her hand and gave it a small squeeze, chuckles dying down. He was a bit disappointed to have potentially missed her reaction but at least he got something out of her and something was better than nothing. He felt her squeeze his hand back in return.

“...Nines.”

2B continued to surprise him tonight.

“Yeah?”

He eyed her silently as she brought her free hand up to cup his cheek, patiently waiting for her to speak.

“What’s wrong?”

She started to run her thumb in soft circles on his cheek and he relished in the affection she was giving him.

“Just... having nightmares.”

His eyes averted from her face in shame, not wanting to speak out loud his fears. He only heard her make a low hum before she broke her hand free from his grasp to cup his other cheek and mimic the motions on that side as well. When he finally had the courage to, he looked back at her to be greeted with a gentle smile. One he was certain he’d never forget. He’d never seen this look on her face before so he made sure to imprint it in his memory banks for the rest of his existence.

“I’ll listen if you want to talk about it.”

9S couldn’t help but give her a shaky smile, realizing how awkward it was to be talking to the person his nightmares were actually about. Either way, the scanner couldn’t help but open up to her. Something about her just made him unable to keep quiet.

“Well… they were… uh… about you. What happened at the commercial facility. I-”

He gritted his teeth, eyes squeezing shut.

“I can’t get the image of your death out of my head. It just plays over and over in my head-”

9S felt soft fingers trail to the back of his neck before he was pulled forward until his face was pressed up against the junction of her neck. Her fingers threaded in his hair as her face pressed into the top of his head. He could feel her breath hit him every time she exhaled.

“I’m- I’m sorry, Nines.”

Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes and he couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her waist to pull her closer to himself as if doing so would stop them. This proved to be futile as they started to slip down his cheeks and wet her shoulder. He choked out a sob.

“D-don’t. It’s not your fault, 2B. I don’t blame you. I could never blame you.”

His fingers dug into her back, hands gripping tightly onto the velvet material of her clothing. 2B’s fingers left his hair in favor of her arms wrapping around his neck to cradle his head in her embrace. He could feel her take in a deep breath as her nose pressed against the top of his head. She kept quiet as he sobbed, soaking her shoulder in his shed tears. Once his crying subsided into quiet sniffs, she spoke softly.

“It’s okay. I’m here now.”

9S took in a deep breath of his own, taking in her scent as he did. A scent that wasn’t anything too specific but uniquely her. It comforted him and calmed him down and he craved more of it. Without even realizing, he’d moved his face from her shoulder to the junction where her neck and jaw met and buried his nose against her skin. If this action affected her in any way she made no indication of it, merely tilting her head slightly to accommodate him. His next words were muffled slightly.

“Please- 2B. I- Please don’t leave me again.”

His inner thoughts turned panicky at the prospect of losing her like that again. There would be no one by his side anymore. What was his reason for living if she was no longer in his life? His sole reason for living after losing her was only to seek revenge for her passing. His end goal was merely to join her. Whether an afterlife existed for androids or not was irrelevant to him.

“Please…”

He spoke barely above a whisper as if it was a sin to even ask that of her. As much as he was used to her being quiet on average and speaking very little when she did, his insides began to gnaw at him in fear due to her lack of words. Almost as if she could sense this feeling in him, 2B made a humming noise and dragged her fingers through his hair gently, occasionally tugging at the strands.

“Nines. I-”

2B stopped her words and 9S could almost sense hesitation in her voice as if she wasn’t sure what to say. Or perhaps if she should say it. He wasn’t sure if she just couldn’t form her thoughts into words or if she had nothing to say at all. 2B was an enigma to him on most occasions. Just when he thought he had her figured out she’d do something to put him right back at square one.

“I-”

She made a sound like she was clearing her throat before tightening her hold on him and pulling him impossibly closer.

“I don’t think I could.”

9S couldn’t help it. He was a scanner model and curiosity was part of his nature. She said so little and left him with so many questions. He could speak for ages about how he’d kill a million machines if it meant he could stay by her side. But he figures that in a way, that was part of her charm. Part of the reason he felt so undeniably drawn to her. His hand lazily slid down to her lower back where he rubbed small circles there.

“2B- I- I just want you to know I adore you.”

He started to chuckle nervously before continuing, not able to keep quiet despite his fear of her response to his words.

“You’re my treasure.”

Fingers tugged at his hair again as if urging him to pull away and he complied to her silent request by doing just that, curiosity in his eyes. He wasn’t able to meet her gaze however as she instantly leaned in to, and to his surprise, press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. It was much too quick for his liking but he was too stunned by the fact that she initiated any sort of kiss at all. He gazed up at her in surprise, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. She brought her hand up to push on the bottom of his jaw, forcing him to close his mouth with a look of amusement on her face.

“You look like a mackerel when you do that.”

The corner of his lips tugged up in a half smile of equal amusement. Gradually it turned into a full-on smile and he beamed at her. She returned it with a smile of her own, albeit less stellar than his.

“There. That look suits you much more.”

As if drawn in by some mysterious force and spurred on by her actions, he brought his hand up to tug at the strands of her hair and tilt her head back just enough to press his lips to her throat. He let his lips linger long enough to feel the slight vibrations as she shakily exhaled and it provoked him to press another kiss to her soft skin before whispering against it.

“2B…”

9S felt the sudden, surging need to feel her lips against his own. His whole body seemed to spark with the thought. This was something he had fantasized about on many occasions and he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to fulfill that fantasy. He slowly trailed light, quick kisses up her neck, underneath her chin, and up until he pressed one to the skin just below her bottom lip. He could feel her heavy breaths hitting his face but she stayed completely still and silent.

He felt like he knew her well enough to know that if she wanted him to stop she would have done so by now. 2B was the type to be very clear if she wanted something to stop. She wouldn’t hesitate to tell him to stop or pull away if she didn’t want it. So he did exactly what he intended to do in the first place, taking her silence as a sign that it was okay, and pressed his lips to hers as his eyelids fluttered closed.

There was an immediate spark when their lips met and he felt her sigh into the kiss as she returned it. After what felt like an eternity, even though it was mere minutes at most, of moving his lips against hers he had to pull away to take in much needed air. In that moment, he cursed his creators for making them _too_ close to their image, not wanting to have to pull away for air and instead relish in the way her lips felt against his. Sadly, he had to and took in a much needed breath as he opened his eyes to look at her.

2B had her eyes averted from his face as she too took in much needed air. Her face seemed to be slightly redder than its usual state and 9S realized she was blushing. 2B, _the_ 2B, was blushing. Her face was in its usual state of impassiveness despite this and 9S’ lip quirked up into a lopsided grin.

“2B?”

Her eyes met his at the sound of her name and she raised a brow slightly.

“Hmm?”

He leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers, the grin never leaving his face.

“Thanks. For being here with me.”

He pulled at her arm until he could grasp her hand in his and brought it up to press a kiss to her fingers. He watched the corner of her lip twitch as if she wanted to smile but was holding it back.

“Thanking me is unnecessary.”

Before he could protest she slipped her hand from his grasp to thread her fingers with his and give his hand a squeeze.

“It… makes me happy to see you happy.”

He leaned in quickly to give her a peck on the lips, which she just as quickly returned.

“ _You_ make me happy.”

9S said this as his eyelids fluttered closed and he snuggled closer to her, enjoying her warmth. She broke their hands apart to wrap her arm around him and pull him closer to her before pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Go to sleep.”

He hesitated and murmured.

“Will you be here when I wake up?”

2B chuckled lowly but he was too tired to open his eyes to see it even if he wanted to.

“Of course.”

He nodded, or at least, he thinks he did. Her warmth was comforting to him and he felt himself start to drift off. The last thing he thought before he did so was how glad he was to have his beloved treasure by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a line from the song Years of War by Porter Robinson.
> 
> Edited 1/3/19 - Fixed line breaks so it's easier to read.


End file.
